Sword of the Stranger

   Sword of the Stranger is a 2007 Japanese Anime film directed by Masahiro Ando and produced by animation studio Bones (Known for such works as Wolf's Rain, Soul Eater, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood and Space Dandy). 

   The film follows Kotaro, a young boy is hunted by a group of swordsmen from Ming Dynasty China. Kotaro and his beloved Shiba Inu eventually meet a nameless ronin whilst in hiding, who is haunted by memories of his past what have led him to avoid drawing his sword ever again (Which is not to say that he still can't kick some serious ass when needed). As the two (Or three, if you include the dog... which we should) begin to bond, they eventually find themselves dragged into the messiest ordeal possible as the Ming clash with a feudal Lord, a proud general, and monks during their pursuit of Kotaro.

   

   The one thing I did not at all expect in this film is the inclusion of Mandarin. Sure, there are Chinese characters, and notably historically accurate costumes and settings... but I was still pleasantly surprised over that aspect and the fact that they had actually bothered. After all, there aren't necessarily that many animes shows and films that have bothered with such a thing when it came to their non-Japanese characters (Of course, this could mostly be due to budget constraints). To hear these Ming hunters speak to one another especially shows a much more human side to them than one would have expected. The Ming's Western fighter speaks in an entertainingly heavy accent as he speaks mandarin, to further accentuate the fact that he is truly not one of them, which is another nice little bit of detail from their part. The Japanese voice acting as well is notably more realistic, like something you would hear out of a live-action chanbara. Having been so use to really expressive and over-the-top voice acting from all the animes that I have watched, it really isn't that difficult to notice.

   But anyway, let's get down to the main focus on this film and the most probable reason as to why most folks decide to check out this film in the first place... the fight scenes.

   No words can truly describe how amazing the cinematography actually is for all the fight scenes featured in this film, but seeing as this is a blog post, I am obviously going to have to give it a try. The camera angles and movements are just so unbelievably dynamic that one couldn't possibly begin to imagine how they were actually able to visualise all of this during the pre-production stage. With detailed and complex movements that are the perfect balance of exaggeration and realism (And surely some references had to be used when it came to these duels). 

   There is just so much detail for every single frame, from the way their hair and clothes move, the sparks that are emitted when metal clashes against metal, and the even the briefest glimpse of someone's intestines as he cut swiftly through in a large spray of blood. There are no shortcuts in the way the fight scenes are animated (You know, when it appears that a character is moving so fast that they don't seem to be moving at all?), and as a full-length film, it is clear that the animators went all out. It could have been so easy to simply take the Quentin Tarantino route where exagerrated amounts of blood would spray in every direction and cover most of the view (Not that I'm thrashing that aspect about his films), but they didn't,  while violence and gore is most definitely evident from how these warriors mercilessly kill their foes, you can truly see the littlest detail that would make even those with the strong stomach go "Whoa ho ho ho~!".

   Again, there is just so much detail, as seen in the gif below, if it isn't the way his fingers move and wrap around the sheathe, it's the way the sword is torn right out from its bonds (I just... what?!). There are quite a few fight scenes that take place in the rain and snow (Which is another little weakness of mine), and so to see rain drops patter against-- no, drench their forms and to see their breath form right in front of them... it's just sheer beauty right there.

   To add to that, Sword of the Stranger also has a decent storyline with good pacing and cast of characters. To me, there is no denying that this is a masterpiece of a fighting anime film, everything was considered. The writing, the music (I did jump a few times during those flashback sequences, they did have a tendency to use pretty shocking sound cues for when the character thinks back to his traumatising past), the settings, the cinematography (Which we already talked about)... absolutely everything. It is obvious that this would be one of my biggest inspiration for my Extended Practice project, especially when it comes to figuring out the fight scene/s in there. It will most definitely be incredibyl mediocre when compared to the masters, but, we all have to start somewhere, don't we?

The Bond of Four - Statement of Intent

   Not much has changed since the first proposal that I sent in, there were just a few tweaks here and there on some details, such as the duration of the animation and the narrowing down of the ethnic groups that I wish to focus on. There is also another confirmed stakeholder now, that being Rosy Turner, whom I have had a pleasant enough experience with when she had made a set of title sequences for my COP3 project.

STATEMENT OF INTENT

1. Blog Address - Where are you documenting the development of Extended Practice online?

   While everything will be documented through my Studio Practice blog as per normal. Concept art and other visual contents will also be posted on my Tumblr side blog: http://thebondoffour.tumblr.com/

   I plan to continue using this blog even after this module ends, teeing that this will be a series that I hope to continue and expand upon after.

2. Subjects and Themes - Broadly speaking what are you interested in exploring and why?
A story centering around the fantasy and adventure genres, I will be looking into a variety of ethnic cultures to create a diverse world that would strongly portray the message of Racial Harmony that Singapore have always wanted to promote since it became an independent country.

I will particularly be focusing around the major groups (That being Chinese, Malays and Indians), as well as a few minor groups such as the Japanese, Koreans, and Peranakan.

3. Statement of Intent - Specifics of what you want to do, during this module? 

What

   For my extended practice, I will be aiming to produce a short animation (Of around 1 and half minute duration) and a concept art book (Consisting of character, prop and setting designs, storyboards of various scenarios (Scenes that will be featured in the animation short and concepts) and a look into the story’s universe itself as well as the characters’ relationship with one another) to go along with it. This will be a realistic enough duration for the animation considering that it will feature fully-colored sequences (Come complete with proper shading and lighting) and dynamically animated scenes.

   Titled “The Bond of Four”, the story takes place in a fantasy-based world where four siblings are separated from one another at a very young age, only to reunite with one another several years later, one now a humble scholar, one a daring pickpocket, one an assassin to a wealthy king and another a crown prince. And soon they will realize that it is fate that has brought them back together as a war will soon wage between two kingdoms.

Why

   This project was initially presented as a concept for a stage play, while it was not necessarily stated that the universe the story would be a non-fictional one, the designs were heavily based on a variety of Asian cultures and religions (Such as Chinese, Malaysian, Peranakan and Japanese). In the end, this series was created as a way to show further appreciation for not just Asia’s wide variation of colorful cultures, but to also promote racial harmony.

Who

Seeing as this series had originally been designed as a booklet that would be handed out to those that would be viewing this hypothetical play, this was originally aimed at teenagers and adults (When considering the age groups that would possibly be interested in attending such plays). Again, seeing as this had been created to promote racial harmony, the series is aimed at roughly the same target audience, but can now be further extended seeing as it is presented in a more reachable form of media.

How

   In terms of my research, aside from looking into a number of inspirations (Which will include movies, shows, video games, comic books and music) for my animation, I will also be referring to various animation, concept and fashion books.

   The concepts will allow me the chance to play around with both traditional and digital mediums, especially when experimenting with an art style that would work for the overall series. During this pre-production, I will also attempt to improve further on drawing stronger poses to evoke a stronger personality for my characters aside from typical referencing to their appearances.

   The animation itself will be worked on in Adobe Photoshop and will be touched up on in Adobe After Effects. Adobe Indesign will be used when putting the concept art book together.

   Music and sound for the animation short will be composed by a collaborator whom I have worked with on a few other projects in the past, including my recent Context in Practice 3 project.

When

   While the module’s final deadline is on the 6th of May 2016, there are several other deadlines for presentations and critique sessions. A Gantt chart has been made so that I will be able to stay on track over the next few months and efficiently progress and produce the work needed for the final product.

4. Explain how this will be developing your Specialist Practice?

   Such a major project will also be a huge addition to my portfolio, which will be required by the time this module ends. I wish to explore into all the areas (Visual Development, Character Design, Storyboarding, Scriptwriting and Animating) that I hold a deep interest in, and by the end of this module, I should be able to confirm which areas in particular that I think I will work better in and should focus more on.

5. Resources and Workshops - What do you need and by When?

   Perhaps a refresher course on After Effects might help (Particularly when it comes to the camera tools). An available Cintiq would also be of great help.

6. Will you be working on a group project or brief? ( If YES explain )
No.

7. Are there any stakeholders in your project? If YES, explain who they are and what their responsibilities are? - This is essential if you've got a Live Brief from a client
   At the present moment, I have definitely confirmed that I will be collaborating with an ex-Leeds College of Music student for the music and sound of my animation, as well as a classmate who will be working on a opening and closing title sequences for the animation itself.

The Bond of Four - Presentation Session

   Not much has changed for the direction in which I will be taking this project in since my last tutorial with my lecturer a couple of months back. I will still be working on an animation of 1 and a half minute duration (We will see really, once I get the storyboard and animatic done) and an artbook (A much more comprehensive one as compared to my COP3 one) to go along with it. I believe that I have learnt so much during my struggles with Context of Practice 3 and will try to do a much better job this time round. I will attempt to incorporate more strong and dynamic poses for my characters when designing them, and of course, this will be a good time to relearn how to draw (When it comes to perspectives especially, I believe that my drawing skills have become incredibly rusty, seeing as I was struggling so much to make my character drawings more lively when working on Lurk).

   While I am very keen on creating more intricate designs for my characters for this particular series (Especially with all the beautiful references and inspirations I have gathered from various traditional costume sites), I will also have to do a simplified version of these designs for when I animate them. When considering other aspects such as coloring, lighting (And of course the body and facial expressions of the characters themselves), there will be no need for crazy amounts of detail to make them stand out. And it is due time that I get some proper animating done for my final college project, I swear, I'm going to go all out for this.

   All forms of research and development will of course be documented here. I will however use my PPP blog for when I begin working on marketing material for this series, as suggested by our lecturer to the whole lot of us. I had made a really quick poster for this series back when I studied Illustration in NAFA, and so this would be a good time to put together a much better one alongside other promotional materials.

  As I had written before on my COP blog, I am very enthusiastic about relearning After Effects, I am sure that I will be able to put it to very good use for this project. While I am not necessarily sure when a workshop for it will be held, I am sure I can take that time to learn the basics of the camera and puppet tools on my own in the meantime (Seeing as I was shown how to only 2 days ago... it all depends on this god awful memory of mine, to be honest).

   It is also during this module where I will attempt to collaborate or at least contribute in some shape or form to my friends' own projects. Continuing on in her designing of various title sequences for animations and films from COP3, I just might be working again with Rosy on getting a one done for this animation. During Becky's presentation, I was interested in helping out a little in the concept art aspect of her project. Seeing as she will be working on an animation based on Rumpelstiltskin and wanted to give it a creepier and darker look akin to that of Grimm Fairytales, I find myself interested in contributing to that area (It would be nice to work on some slightly darker stuff alongside my own project).

   I put together a really rough gantt chart that I will be updating again soon (After all, I will probably have other plans aside from staying in to draw and animate all day, especially during Easter break, and I will most definitely be attending MCM Liverpool in March). All my classes have already been put in there, as well as roughly when I am going to do what and for how long. Research, concept art and scriptwriting will especially be worked alongside one another for the next two weeks. I am sure I will get things done properly this time round so long as I don't procrastinate like I did for COP.

1st Gantt Chart

   I especially find appeal in getting some of our characters printed out as cardboard cutouts for the end of year show. I still can't believe that this really is my final year here...